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John Ewbank (born 6 December 1968) is a British-born Dutch composer, lyricist and record producer. He was born in Eastleigh, Hampshire to a British father and a Dutch mother, [1] and moved with his mother to the Netherlands when he was one year old.
He wrote/produced a record number of twenty #1 Dutch Top 40 hit singles, of which fourteen were for Marco Borsato, for whom he has been producing and writing since 1994. They sold over four million albums together in the Benelux. Other artists Ewbank worked with include Ferry Corsten, Trijntje Oosterhuis, VanVelzen, Esmée Denters, Gordon, Paul de Leeuw, Rob de Nijs, Nikki Kerkhof, Hero, Maud Mulder, and Tim Immers.
The first #1 in 1991 with Gordon, "Kon ik maar even bij je zijn" ("If only I could be with you for a short while"), a song which reached the #1 position for the second time in October 2009, when covered by Thomas Berge. In 1996, Ewbank composed the anthem for the opening of the Amsterdam Arena. His music is featured in Quentin Tarantino's True Romance . He composed scores for the films Superstition with Charlotte Rampling and for Floris . In 2002, Ewbank worked with Ferry Corsten on Corsten's latest production under his 'Gouryella' alias, "Ligaya". He also wrote and produced the #1 hit for the Dutch Idols winner Nikki in 2008 ("Hello World").
In April 2013 he was commissioned to compose the official song for the investiture of king Willem-Alexander. The song was released on 19 April, causing much controversy and Ewbank decided to withdraw it due to threats and allegations in the social media. [2] A couple of days later, however, the committee plead against the withdrawal of the song. [3] The song went to #1 in all the charts.
Beatrix is a member of the Dutch royal house who reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013.
Willem-Alexander is King of the Netherlands, having acceded to the throne following his mother's abdication in 2013.
Princess Margriet of the Netherlands is the third daughter of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard. As an aunt of the reigning monarch, King Willem-Alexander, she is a member of the Dutch Royal House and currently eighth and last in the line of succession to the throne.
The Netherlands has multiple musical traditions. Contemporary Dutch popular music is heavily influenced by music styles that emerged in the 1950s, in the United Kingdom and United States. The style is sung in both Dutch and English. Some of the latter exponents, such as Golden Earring and Shocking Blue, have attained worldwide fame.
Tijs Michiel Verwest, known professionally as Tiësto, is a Dutch DJ and record producer. He was voted "The Greatest DJ of All Time" by Mix magazine in a 2010/2011 poll amongst fans. In 2013, he was voted by DJ Mag readers as the "best DJ of the last 20 years". He is also regarded as the "Godfather of EDM" by many sources.
Armin Jozef Jacobus Daniël van Buuren is a Dutch DJ and record producer. Since 2001, he has hosted A State of Trance (ASOT), a weekly radio show, which is broadcast to nearly 40 million listeners in 84 countries on over 100 FM radio stations. According to the website DJs and Festivals, "the radio show propelled him to stardom and helped cultivate an interest in trance music around the world".
Ferry Corsten is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer. He is well known for producing many pioneering trance tracks during the 1990s–2000s under his numerous aliases, including System F, Moonman, Pulp Victim and Gouryella. In recent years, he has shifted to a broader electronic music style, playing everything from progressive house to uplifting trance; and hosts his own weekly radio show, Resonation Radio. Corsten routinely plays at events and festivals all over the world including Electric Daisy Carnival, Tomorrowland, and many others, and has been consistently ranked among DJ Mag's Top 100 DJs poll, having placed at rank 5 in 2004 and 2005, 6 in 2006 and 2008; and most recently at 53 for 2020.
Gouryella is a solo trance project of Dutch musician Ferry Corsten. Gouryella was originally a Dutch production team, comprising Corsten and Tiësto, who later left. The word itself means "heaven" in an Australian aboriginal language.
Tonny Eyk, pseudonym of Teun Eikelboom, is a Dutch composer, arranger, pianist, bandleader, producer, entertainer, columnist and writer. Eyk is also known for his appearances as a jury member in various television shows including Sterrenslag, Soundmixshow and Mini Playbackshow. His first book, Met Tonny Eyk naar de Provence, combines his love of the Tour de France and French gastronomy. Eyk is also an ambassador of the Dutch company Princess Household Appliances. Eyk graduated by majoring in trombone at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague.
Ramses Shaffy was a Dutch-French singer and actor who became popular during the 1960s. His most famous songs include "Zing, vecht, huil, bid, lach, werk en bewonder", "We zullen doorgaan", "Pastorale", "Sammy" and "Laat me". He frequently collaborated with Dutch singer Liesbeth List.
Roel van Velzen, better known as VanVelzen, is a Dutch singer-songwriter. Besides being known for his short stature, he and his band enjoy a huge live reputation; they have played at virtually every festival in the Netherlands, shared the stage with Queen's Brian May, and supported Kelly Clarkson, Bon Jovi and German megastars Reamonn. He also had an international airplay hit when DJ Armin van Buuren remixed VanVelzen's song "Broken Tonight".
Maggie MacNeal is a Dutch singer. She was a member of Mouth & MacNeal, a pop duo from the Netherlands, who are best known for their million-selling recording of "How Do You Do" in 1972, which topped the Dutch chart and became a US top ten hit, and for representing the Netherlands at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing third with the song "I See a Star", which went on to become a UK top ten hit. In 1980, she represented the Netherlands at the 1980 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing fifth with the song Amsterdam.
Hendrik (Hendrikus) van de Sande Bakhuyzen was a Dutch landscape painter and art teacher. He was a prominent contributor to the Romantic period in Dutch art and his students and children founded the art movement known as the Hague School. Like his contemporaries Edward Williams, Jacob Maris, and Jozef Israëls, he was part of a family of prominent painters, including son Julius van de Sande Bakhuyzen, daughter Gerardina Jacoba van de Sande Bakhuyzen, and nephew Alexander Hieronymus Bakhuyzen.
Paul Blanca was a Dutch photographer.
"Wit licht" is a single by Dutch singer-songwriter Marco Borsato, from his album "Wit licht". The song was released on 18 April 2008. It was written and produced by John Ewbank. It reached the peak position in both the Mega Single Top 100 and the Dutch Top 40. In Flanders, the song reached the third position in the Ultratop 50.
The Koningslied is a song written for the investiture of prince Willem-Alexander as King of the Netherlands on 30 April 2013 on request of the Nationaal Comité Inhuldiging. Upon release the song was met with criticism and ridicule from the public. As a result of the criticism Ewbank withdrew the Koningslied on 20 April 2013. Nevertheless, the Nationaal Comité Inhuldiging confirmed on 22 April 2013 the song would be used as part of the investiture.
Upon his or her accession to the throne, the new Dutch monarch undergoes an inauguration ceremony as required by the constitution. The ceremony is taken as a joint session of the two houses of the States General, and is held at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam.
"Samen voor altijd" is a song recorded by Dutch artist Marco Borsato and his daughter Jada, featuring Dutch rapper Lange Frans and his son Willem, and Dutch producer John Ewbank and his daughter Day. It was written by John and Day Ewbank and Lange Frans, and was produced by John Ewbank. "Samen voor altijd" is listed on Borsato's twelfth studio album Duizend spiegels and was released on 22 November 2013 through label Universal Music.
The inauguration of Willem-Alexander took place on 30 April 2013 at the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. Willem-Alexander ascended the throne immediately following the abdication of his mother Queen Beatrix earlier that day. Willem-Alexander is the first King of the Netherlands since the death of his great-great-grandfather William III in 1890.
Martijn Schimmer is a Dutch composer and producer of television theme songs and film scores. His work includes the theme music for The Voice, Deal or No Deal, RTL Nieuws, and Splash.